Page 96 of Evolve

"Shower and bed," I whisper against his lips. "but only if I get to sleep with both of you."

"Anything you want, Cariño."

Gage

Thenextmorning,thefeeling of my bed shifting as someone gets out of it pulls me from one of the best nights of sleep I've had in a long ass time. I take a moment to let my foggy brain wake up as I become aware of my surroundings. The sunlight creeping through the curtains in my room is the first thing I notice. The second is the warm, soft woman curled into my side.

Cracking open my eyes that are still heavy with sleep, I look down at Ella's sleeping form where she's curled up and practically laying on my body. Her tiny arm is banded around my chest in a death grip, her legs are tangled with mine and her perfect, naked tits are pressed against me. The blanket's been pushed down at some point and her entire body is on display for me.

I stifle the groan building in my chest at the sight but can do nothing about my already hard cock. Using the hand that's not attached to the arm holding her, I reach down and palm my throbbing morning wood. I tug on it roughly a few times as I stare down at her perfect body. Her round, thick ass is turned away from me but I can see the gentle curve of her hip and one of her juicy cheeks from my angle. I fight the urge to spank it and feel the flesh bounce beneath my palm.

Fuck. I yank my hand away from my cock before I get any crazy ideas like jacking off to the visual of her sleeping body and cumming all over her pussy just to really claim her as mine. My dick twitches at the thought.

Instead of giving in to the almost overwhelming need to do just that, I turn over slightly so that I can really look at her. I've never slept with a woman besides her and the few times I have before weren't like this. They were times when I had snuck into her room and crawled into bed next to her, fully clothed, with the intention of just watching out for her and making sure she was okay. I always left before she knew I was there and I never touched her. Not like this at least.

Chasing Cars-Snow Patrol

It's different than anything I've ever experienced, that's for sure. Her face is less guarded now than I think I've ever seen it before, with the exception of last night when my cock was down her throat. She looked up at me and I swear I saw the inside of her soul. At that singular moment, she truly let me in. It took my fucking breath away. The amount of emotions that passed between us is unlike anything I have ever felt. She is really here, in this with us, with me.

There are so many layers to this girl. Her walls are usually up so high, that it's hard to get a read on her. While I understand that we are all just getting to know her and vice-versa, I wish that she would spend more time trying to let us in instead of keeping so many pieces of herself guarded. I get why she does it though and honestly if anyone shouldn't be judging her for it, it's me. I don't just have walls, I have a fucking fortress.

Maybe it's time to change that. I scoff internally. Easier said than fucking done.

Bringing my hand up, I touch her soft cheek, tracing the freckles there. Her skin is so much lighter than mine and the contrast makes me smile. She is the lightness to my darkness in every way. Despite the fact that she struggles with everything that's happened to her, she has still found a way to stay pure. There is nothing innocent or pure left about me. I have so much blood on my hands that I shouldn't even be allowed to touch her.

The thought wipes the smile off my face and I pull my hand away from where I was still caressing her cheek. She shouldn't be here. She shouldn't be with us. I know that's what Nyx has been saying all along, that by being with us, we've not only put a target on her back but we are tainting her world just by being near her. I've thought about it hundreds of times since he first mentioned it.

Every time I see her easy laughter, especially with her friends, or the way she smiles effortlessly when she lets herself relax. In those moments, my gut clenches and it feels like I've been shot. How long will those easy smiles and laughs last before our world has broken and corrupted her? How long will she survive being surrounded by murderers and traffickers? How long until something or someone else hurts her just to get to us?

Lost in my thoughts, I jump when I feel her hand on my face, smoothing out the wrinkles between my brows. "What's that look for?" she mumbles, her voice thick with sleep. The raspy sound goes straight to my cock but I ignore the fucker and focus on her.

"Nothing," I murmur, turning to fully face her. "Good morning, Cariño. How did you sleep?”

She smiles softly and stretches out her limbs like a cat before curling back up next to me. "Really good, actually. You?"

Her hand tentatively moves toward my chest, as though she's not sure if she's allowed to touch me. Her eyes dart up to mine and I can see the question in her eyes. Why? She should know that I'm hers and that means she's allowed to do whatever she wants with my body. When I don't respond, mostly due to confusion, she moves to retract her outstretched hand. Before she can get away, I cover her hand with mine and bring her palm to my chest.

"My body is yours to touch, to explore, to enjoy," I say simply. Her eyes widen a fraction before softening. Not for the first time, I wonder what she's been through to make her this way. She's jumpy and second-guesses almost all of her words and actions. Unless she's mad. When she's mad, I see her inner power shine through. Her inner Queen. I know it's in there, I just don't know how to make her feel confident enough to embrace it.

Ella's hand slowly begins to explore my chest, her eyes never leaving mine. This moment feels more intimate than any sexual encounter I've ever experienced and beneath her wandering palm, my heart begins to thump wildly in my chest. I've fucked women, so many nameless, faceless women throughout the years but it was always just that; a fuck, a release. I've neverdatedanyone or had anything beyond one night with them, never even going back for seconds.

I've always said that it was easier that way so that none of them got attached and formed expectations of me. But here, right now, with Ella, I know that wasn't the only reason why. Maybe not even the biggest reason. It was because ofthis. Laying here with her hands roaming over my skin, her eyes peering into me like she's trying to find my soul, our feelings for each other thickening the air like some sort of electrical current; I know thatI'mthe one who should be worried about getting too attached toher.

Ella uses her other hand to reach out, grasping onto mine and bringing it towards her own chest. She flattens my palm over her heart, mirroring the position of her hand.

"I've never felt like this before," she whispers into the otherwise silent room. My brow furrows at her words even though I feel the same. This is new and the emotion filling me at whatever and the fuck is happening between us right now almost has me pulling away. It feels like too much and I feel more exposed than ever.

"Like what?" I murmur, my voice thick and rough.

She hesitates for a moment before swallowing and whispering, "Safe. Seen. Like another person in this world see's the ugliness inside of me and still wants me instead of running away from me like I'm some sort of disease." In the bright morning light that spills through my curtains, I can see not only the honesty and vulnerability in her words but the tears that are threatening to spill over.

My heart cracks at her words and suddenly, the need to run is gone and replaced with the need to be closer to her in every way possible. She doesn't see what I see, does she?

Rolling her onto her back, I follow, landing on top of her body. I push my knees between her thighs and brace myself on my upper arms, caging her head in. I cup her jaw with both hands, making sure she's paying attention. Her eyes widen at the quick change of position and she huffs out a breath making me grin.

"I need you to listen to me, baby, can you do that?" I command softly. Her tongue darts out to wet her lips before she tentatively nods. I force down not only the groan in my throat but the need the grind my still stiff cock against the wet heat of her pussy. It's now that I remember were both naked as fuck but I will my dick to calm down because this needs to be said.

"You are safe with me and with every single one of us in this house. I don't know everything that you went through in your life before us and I hope that someday you trust me enough to share your story with me, but just know that I am here for and I will protect you from this fucked up world. ¿Me entiendes?"

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